I'll be flying into Santiago de Chile on August 13th and doing my first tour of South America. I'll be traveling solo 'cuz like always it difficult to coordinate my plans/wishes with those of my friends 😊
I'm flying out of Europe with LAN and plan on purchasing an Airpass within the next 10 days for a few local flights. There is so much to see and so little time.
My (current) plan is to stay in Santiago 1-2 days, then fly to La Paz (probably stay there 2-3 days to get used to the height), then do a overland/water tour from La Paz over lake Titicaca to Puno (something like http://www.transturin.com/day.html). I'd hang around Puno for 1-2 days and then take the train to Cusco, hang around there for a few days and see Machu Picchu, then fly on to Lima and Guayaquil.
Ecuador doesn't worry me at all and I don't have any particular plans there - as I'll be staying there with friends and they will basically plan out the entire thing there, but before that I'll be traveling along for 3 weeks and would welcome some advice.
- What would be the easiest way to get to Salar de Uyuni (somewhere where I could book a nice 2-3 day tour from)? Would it be out of Santiago or La Paz? (or is there a better place to fly-in from those offered here: http://plane.lan.com/promociones/data/norteamerica/us/todo_el_mundo/saairpass_mapaf-en-un.html) ... if its from Santiago, would it make sense to return to Santiago afterwards if I'm flying to La Paz? Should I then better just continue on to La Paz? How long would this take me?
- Do most people get altitude sickness in La Paz or just some?
- Is taking a bus/catamaran combo from La Paz to Puno a good way to move around?
- What should I watch for in particular? Is it dangerous for a solo traveler to do my route?
- I was warned against bringing my big (expensive) camera and lenses because there is a good chance to get robbed - and only bring my small IXUS... is it really that bad? I understand those concerns but the photographer in me might never forgive me for missing out on all those sights ;-)
- My Spanish is virtually non-existent - is that a huge handicap? I suppose most people into tourism speak at least some English there right? It couldn't be as bad as China and I survived that ;-)
- Did anyone here take the train from Puno to Cusco? Its a bit pricey but I hear its simply stunning... is it worth it or should I take the bus or fly?
- Would I miss too much by not doing the Inca trail and just going to see Machu Picchu? I'm guessing I'll see enough Inca ruins and nature on my way from Santiago + I'm not really going to be bringing camping equipment...
- Should I really buy the train ticket to Machu Picchu in advanced because it could be sold out when I get there? My problem is that I'm not really sure when I get to Cusco - I could be off by a day or two...
- Is it realistic to travel S.America the way I travel in Asia? So no hotel/hostel reservations before I get to a certain destination? Just walking into a local hotel/hostel/tourist-agency and just booking everything on the spot?
- How much cash should I have on me? Is it in general safe to leave stuff (documents too) in my hotel/hostel room when I roam the great outdoors outside?
- I've just noticed that the main route to Easter islands leads through Santiago - and now I'm tempted to to that as well for a few days ;-) It is a bit more (flight price) but is it worth it? Could I instead of buying the ticket on my Airpass possibly find a better packaged deal in a local tourist agency in Santiago (so that I don't have to decide right now)?
- Is it realistic to do the route I described in 3 weeks? So from Santiago to Lima in 3 weeks (and then 2 weeks in Ecuador)....
- Anything else I did not think about? Any advice?
Thank you!
V.
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